Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday, causing extensive damage and leaving millions without power in the midst of a blistering heatwave. Houston shluchim are improvising and raising funds to help residents with food and shelter.
By Anash.org reporter
After making landfall in Texas with wind gusts higher than 90 mph, a 3-6-foot storm surge and heavy rain, Hurricane Beryl caused heavy damage and left over 2.7 million people without power.
Three days later, over a million people across Houston are still without power in the midst of a blistering heatwave. While many local Chabad mosdos have lost power, the shluchim are doing all they can to help locals and improvise. The mikvah is operating with flashlights, and camps are operating at alternate locations with power.
The situation of the locals is very challenging. Many families are without electricity, and some homes are flooded, compromising neighborhood safety.
One woman whose mother lives at a West Houston retirement community with 20 Jewish residents wrote to a shliach:
“The building that you know over at Eagles Trace (where they have their Shabbat gatherings) still doesn’t have power. My mother is staying with us, as we were fortunate not to have lost power at all (for a change because we’re usually first to lose it and last to get it back). But there are many residents there living in the heat and pitch dark at night. I took battery-operated fans over there tonight for one of my mother’s neighbors. It’s brutal. The elderly shouldn’t have to live this way.”
Contributions are needed for alternative camp locations, maintaining Mikvahs, replacing perishables, covering uninsured damages, establishing community cooling centers with kosher snacks and meals, acquiring backup generators, and preparing Shabbos packages.
Click here to contribute to the Hurricane Beryl Relief Fund.
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